Whyte says there is opportunity in the mash-up of gambling and addiction treatment. More recently, the firm invested in a seed round for Birches. Reva Nohria, a partner at General Catalyst who sits on Birches’ board, said in an emailed statement that “as gambling becomes more accessible—both legally and digitally—we expect demand for treatment to rise in parallel.” To Nankivil, that balancing force is also the better investment right now. “I hope that there is a lot more investment in responsible gambling.

Make instant UPI payments

HSBC RuPay credit cards can be used online, in store, and at ATMs all over India. They can also be linked to a UPI ID, to enable safe and secure instant payments. RuPay was developed to offer an affordable, secure, and local alternative to international card networks like Visa and Mastercard. It combines the words ‘Rupee’ and ‘Payment’ to show it comes from India. It’s usually quickest to apply online, but if you prefer to speak to someone about your application, call us or visit your nearest branch.

• Log out of your current logged-in account and log in again using your ET Prime credentials to enjoy all member benefits.
• “The rise in access to online gambling was not initially met with corresponding innovation in clinical treatment,” Birches CEO Elliott Rapaport told Barron’s in an email.
• The Lancet, a medical journal, estimates that 8.9% of adult sports bettors could have a gambling disorder.
• RuPay was developed to offer an affordable, secure, and local alternative to international card networks like Visa and Mastercard.

The HSBC RuPay Cashback Card gives you money back on all the things you love, so you have more to spend on the things you want. Just use your card for all your everyday purchases to start earning. The two General Catalyst-backed firms have a partnership in which Birches is “providing virtual resources and care for Sleeper’s community.” “Very rarely does problem gambling legislation on kho kho india its own succeed,” says Whyte, now president of consultancy firm Safer Gambling Strategies. Birches has also grown quickly since it was founded in 2023. By the end of the year, the firm expects to have more than 300 counselors specializing in gambling disorders, the largest such network in the U.S., the company says.

While Alumni’s investment in Sleeper predated Nankivil’s tenure at the firm, he recognizes the success of the original gambling investment. “The tension in venture capital is that we have that fiduciary responsibility,” he says. “And daily fantasy sports or gaming was a way to make money for our investors. It’s still a really positive investment for us.” With the pool of gamblers growing, investors are doubling down on both betting and addiction treatment. General Catalyst, a Silicon Valley venture-capital firm with $36 billion in assets, participated in Sleeper’s Series A, B, and C funding rounds, a spokesperson for General Catalyst confirmed.

Download ET App:

“Private-sector solutions to most problems tend to be more efficient,” says Nate Kline of Cistern Capital, a Birches investor that has limited its gambling investment to the treatment side of the equation. Get to know where the market bulls are investing to identify the right stocks. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on Probo Media Technologies, alleging illegal gambling activities through its ‘Probo’ app. Investigations revealed the company lured users with deceptive schemes, promoting gambling under the guise of opinion trading.

Half of American men under 50 have an account on a digital sportsbook, according to a Siena College survey. The Lancet, a medical journal, estimates that 8.9% of adult sports bettors could have a gambling disorder. Tracy Barba, director of the Lucas Institute for Venture Ethics at Santa Clara University, says the paired investments are a clear “conflict of interest” without historical precedent. Get fitter with daily health insights committed to your well-being. Log out of your current logged-in account and log in again using your ET Prime credentials to enjoy all member benefits.

Gambling and gambling treatment firms may benefit from data-sharing opportunities, Whyte says. Treatment firms could help fine-tune the algorithms used by gambling operators to identify at-risk bettors. VC firms have invested $2 billion in gambling businesses since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling opened the door to nationwide sports betting in 2018, according to PitchBook. As a business, treating problem gambling is still in its early stages, with VCs generally participating in so-called seed round funding for treatment firms. Alumni isn’t the only one getting in on the pair trade.

I’m not as concerned about the reasons why,” Whyte says. “The market’s ripe. There’s an opportunity to do well by doing good.” Cassie Puckett, a problem gambling counselor in Kentucky, says that in December she would typically see two patients a week through Birches. Birches says its providers completed 5,000 appointments last year and are on track to complete more than nine times that number in 2025. “The rise in access to online gambling was not initially met with corresponding innovation in clinical treatment,” Birches CEO Elliott Rapaport told Barron’s in an email.

As Barron’s has previously reported, there is no federal funding for problem gambling services, while state grants are often mired in red tape. States spent less than 1% of their gambling tax revenue on problem gambling in 2023, according to the National Association of Administrators for Disordered Gambling Services. Analyze the market sentiments & identify the trend reversal for strategic decisions. Check the score based on the company’s fundamentals, solvency, growth, risk & ownership to decide the right stocks. To get started, add your HSBC RuPay credit card to the HSBC SimplyPay app, or any third-party UPI app.

Bettor Capital, a VC firm devoted entirely to gambling, invested in Kindbridge in March. In all, Barron’s identified six VC firms simultaneously invested in gambling and gambling treatment. While venture capital’s dual-sided approach to gambling may concern ethicists, those on the ground advocating for problem gambling say they can use all the help they can get. The Sleeper app has been downloaded 9.5 million times globally, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. More than a quarter of those downloads came last year, for a 25% year-over-year increase.